Gov. Steve Bullock visited the Child and Family Services Office in Kalispell on Friday to discuss protective services appropriations in the still-evolving state budget.

Taking aim at Republican opposition to many of his spending proposals, Bullock urged more than a dozen state workers to reach out to their legislators — particularly those on appropriations committees — and educate them on the effects of low funding on the agency.

“Truly I think we have no greater obligation than protecting those who are the most vulnerable,” Bullock said. “We can play political games, but these are kids and this is the safety of our communities we’re talking about.”

Bullock said that Republican-led budget committees have already reduced his requested funding for protective services, but he focused on House Bill 305, which would provide $1 million over the next two years to add 27 full-time staff positions in the state’s Child and Family Services Division.

“This is the money that allows Child Protective Services to make sure we’re protecting our kids throughout the system,” Bullock said, comparing protective services funding cuts to asking police to do their jobs without a gun or a radio.

Several workers at the roundtable discussion said that a high turnover rate has been particularly damaging, and the ripple effects when an employee leaves hit children the hardest. 

Devin Kuntz, the county’s Children’s Advocacy Center coordinator, said employees are overworked and underfunded, and the stress is driving many good employees out of the department.

“When turnover happens, it affects the people working with them,” Kuntz said. “When you’re having that kind of turnover it has a massive cost ... If you’re not retaining the people in those important positions, you’re doing a great disservice to the community.”

He said that even when fully staffed, the agency’s case workers handle eight to 10 cases at a time. Another worker added that many of the children in the system average a new case worker each year.

“When you equip them like this, you’re telling them that you’re not important, and neither are the kids,” said Commander Dick Sine of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

Bullock complimented the employees in the room and referred to his experience as the state attorney general, where he worked on some of those cases.

“The transcripts wore me out, to be honest. Just reading about what these kids go through,” he said. “The reason why you do these jobs is not to get wealthy. It’s because you have passion, and passion has a threshold.”

Bullock’s bill initially called for a $3 million appropriation, but it was cut to $1 million in committee. It passed on a preliminary vote in the House, 70-30, but was referred to the budget committee. No action has been taken since a Feb. 19 hearing, and the deadline for it to pass the House is March 31.